Saturday, November 26, 2011

Alchemist, Banana Pancake, Personal Calling dan Bali


Pelan-pelan saya mengunyah banana pancake di mulut saya. Menu ini selalu menjadi pilihan menu utama saya ketika sedang berada di Bali. Bahkan kali ini saya mencombo banana pancake dengan scramble eggs, toast, fruit salad plus coffee au lait. Kalau saja abang saya, Christian saat ini ada di sini pasti dia sudah ngedumel sambil meledek porsi makanan saya. Dia pasti akan menggenggam pergelangan tangan saya sambil bilang ‘ you eat so much, but it doesn’t  influence your body at all. Where do all these food go?”. Biasanya saya akan tersenyum lebar sambil terus menyantap makanan saya dengan lahap.

Sesekali  saya menyelingi suapan pancake saya dengan coffee au lait yang kata abang saya menjadi lait au coffee karena saya mencanpur susu terlalu banyak.  Saya sangat betah berlama-lama di restoran ini. Selain harganya yang sangat terjangkau, hobi iseng saya terakomodir di sini. Ada banyak hal yang bisa saya komentari dari ramainya orang yang lalu-lalang di jalan kecil di depan restoran. Kadang  saya tersenyum, kadang kening saya berkerut karena berpikir dan kadang saya miris dengan apa yang saya lihat. Selain orang yang berlalu lalang, tidak ada perubahan yang berarti di jalan sempit tempat restoran favorit (karena murah dan enak) saya ini berada. Selama hampir lima tahun saya duduk di tempat ini paling tidak dua kali setahun. Dan dalam 4 bulan ini melonjak menjadi sepuluh kali. 

Toko-toko dan kios penjual souvenir di depan dan samping restoran masih sama seperti minggu lalu sebelum saya balik ke Malang dan kembali lagi ke sini, bulan lalu, dua bulan yang lalu, 7 bulan yang lalu dan 4 tahun yang lalu. Gadis-gadi yang menawarkan jasa pijat juga masih sama meneriakkan “Hello, massage please!” yang terkadang lesu. Kelesuan yang tercipta karena low session karena wisatawan tidak membludak seperti biasanya, yang artinya mereka harus berjuang lebih keras untuk menggaet pelanggan.

Memperhatikan semua itu membawa pikiran saya pada satu pertanyaan. Apakah mereka tidak bosan menjalani rutinitas yang itu-itu saja selama bertahun-tahun? Well, mungkin tidak itu-itu saja karena saya tidak tahu apa yang mereka lakukan di rumah mereka. Dari pandangan nanar gadis-gadis pemijat kepada wisatawan yang keluar masuk toko dan restoran, otak sok tahu saya bia menangkap sebenarnya mereka bosan dan ingin menikmati suasana berlibur seperti mereka dan juga saya. atau juga memimpikan bisa bertukar posisi dengan para wisatawan itu. Mereka menjadi wisatawan dan bule-bule itu menjadi penjaja jasa pijat seperti mereka.

Saya percaya bahwa sebenarnya semua orang mempunyai mimpi yang tinggi dan ideal untuk dirinya masing-masing. Buktinya, coba tanyakan kepada anak-anak TK atau keponakan anda yang sedang lucu-lucunya. Pasti mereka semua mempunyai cita-cita. Dan saya yakin kita semua pernah di sana, bergembira dengan cita-cita tinggi kita yang sepertinya akan mudah saja diraih. Itu sebelum terkontaminasi oleh pengaruh pesimisme terhadap realitas hidup dan prejudice orang-orang dewasa di lingkungan sekitar kita.

Cita-cita kita pelan-pelan terkubur karen akita diberitahu bahwa tidak semua yang kita inginkan akan tercapai. Kita diingatkan untuk tidak bercita-cita ‘terlalu tinggi’ karena akan menyiksa diri kita sendiri. Kita disuruh untuk melihat si Budi anak tetangga sebelah yang pernah bercita-cita tinggi  tapi sekarang stress karena cita-citanya tidak tercapai. Akan tetapi kita tidak disuruh untuk menengok si Iwan anak tetangga sebelahnya lagi yang sukses mampus dan berbahagia karena konsisten mengejar cita-citanya.

Lama-kelamaan cita-cita itu terkubur semakin dalam karena kita takut dengan konsisten mengejar cita-cita kita akan menyakiti orang-orang yang kit acintai; keluarga, sahabat, ataupun kekasih yang hatinya terpaut dengan hati anda. Padahal seharusnya cinta adalah energi. Kalau saya, saya yakin bahwa orang-orang yang saya cintai akan bahagia melihat saya bahagia karena saya menggapai mimpi-mimpi saya.

Paulo Coelho dalam novel fenomenalnya, Alchemist, menggambarkan dengan indah bahwa semua orang mempunyai keinginan yang disebut “personal calling”. Personal Calling adalah cita-cita atau keinginan setiap manusia seperti yang saya ceritakan tadi. Orang yang setia mendengar personal calling-nya akan menggapai personal legend; kejayaan dan kebahagiaan. They live happily because they live their life to the fullest”. Since they did all their best to achieve what they really want, they have nothing to regret.

Ada banyak orang yang mengubur personal callingnya dan berpikir bahwa penerus keturunannya bisa merealisasikan mimpi itu. Maka muncul lah orang tua yang memaksa anaknya masuk sekolah tertentu dan kuliah di jurusan tertentu untuk menggapai mimpi itu. Padahal anak-anak mereka bukan robot, mereka mempunyai personal callingnya masing-masing. You can put them in the best school in the town, but they have their own toys and interest.

Tugas orang tua adalah member masukan dan pertimbangan atas pilihan anak dan mensupport si anak jika apa yang di aimpikan memang hal yang positif.  Jangan sampai unrealized willing anda dibebankan kepada orang lain. Realisasikan sekarang selagi anda masih bisa. mumpung anda masih punya energy dan polusi pesimisme belum mencemari karena bisingnya suara-suara prejudice di sekeliling anda. Listen your heart, follow your personal calling!

Senada dengan “the Secret”, Melalui Achemist, Paulo Coelho juga mengatakan “ when you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”.
Kopi di cangkir saya sdah habis. Banana pancake sudah tandas. Gadis-gadis pemijat masih berteriak “Hello massage”. Saya semakin yakin untuk mengikuti personal calling saya. Saya tidak ingin ketika saya tua nanti, saya mengutuk hidup saya karena berhenti berusaha merealisasikan “personal calling” saya.

PS:
Maaf, saya jadi terkesan menggurui. Mungkin karena efek kebanyakan makan banana pancake

Bali, 20 November 2011

Friday, November 25, 2011

It's Feeling Stupid!


It was long time ago my friend, Irma suggested to watch this movie, but I never realized it until my sister copied that movie to my laptop with a gazilion words telling that the movie is so me. They said that I'm a shopaholic so that I need to watch this movie for curing. Lol. I've questioned myself many times whether I'm a shopaholic or not. And the answer was a big big no. I like to do window shopping (and yes, shoping some times). I do shoopping when I'm in a very stucked with my job (or yes my feeling some time). And note it; I only shop when I found a very sexy and nice jeans from Levi's or nudie. And yes, very sexy bermuda or undie (undie is human right anyway. That's why I always wonder when there is a man with a daddy-used-to-be-white undie under their pants. Oh, come on, get enlightment guys!). And also very good fragrance. Okey, I'm too much about this part. It's just a personal side of me. We will not discuss about it.

Back to the "confension of shopaholic". I love the charachter of Rebecca Bloomwood. One schene that I really like is when ... And Luke were in the Gala Dinner. And Bloomingwood told the big boss of a big bank that his bank is very boring. Everyone on the spot was shocked of that bare words to the boss. She suggested to put the umbrella in front of the bank window and give the discount for administration payment to attract the customers. Surprisingly, the bank’s big boss like the idea. What I got from that short dialogue is about little things that usually forgotten. A feeling.


Putting umbrella is aimed to give a customer a good feeling so that they'll be attracted to come to the bank. And the sale or discount give the feeling to the customer that the product is cheap eventhough in logical thought it's not that cheap. These feeling enhancements lead you to the trance condition and then lead you to buy without thinking. It works that simple.


Last month was my birthday. And Christian, my lovely Abang come for a late birthday present. We have had a holiday together. He came along with a very nice book for another present. I felt in love with the book in a first sight. I spontaneously loove the book becouse of the cover's colour; shocking orange. It attracted me to directly open the first page and started reading. I'm sure if the book got a bad colour I would not that interested and enthusiastic to read. And in addition, I was happy to read becouse it was a birthday present. It's about the feeling.


Another story. I and my Abang was bored with the hotel we had been staying in for days. We intended to change. So, there we were, on the motorbike finding the comfortable hotel. The first hotel I stopped, I directly said no becouse the waiter didn't give me even a single smile eventhough the hotel got cheap price. The waiter's response lead me to a bad feeling. Instead of thinking that a hotel got a pretty cheap price, I walked away becouse I did,t feel confortable. Believe me, there is no single normal person in this world want to stay in a free hotel with everyday unconvenient and uncomfortable feeling. It's about feeling. Little things with big effect.


This morning we were sitting for breakfst in the swimmingpool side after an exhausting trip to Ubud a day before. The waiter got us two big white ceramic pot of coffee. One teko for each. A pot contains of about five cup of coffee. The coffee directly wiped away the bad feeling I have about the hotel becouse they provide a not really nice shower room. I was mumbling about it. But these pots of coffee enhance the hotel level from bad to the not so bad.  

Yesterday, we had been in Ubud for a quick visit. Staying there in the what people called a heart of Bali a two days and a night. The accomodation we got was more then expected. A small-six rooms cozy guesthouse with very well arrangement backyard and a big balcony with a free view to the paddy fields and of course with lot of kamboja trees, my favourite flover ever. More then anything, the owner knows how to pemper the customer so well. It's like the popped-up famously boys band lyric which I don't like becouse I'm not into boysband; I know you so well or in singaporean version, I know you so well lah.  Actually the gusthouse didn't really put us as a upper-ordinant or superior position. They consider us as a friend. The owner talked to us like a friend. She tried to build the feeling of being a friend. Small things that lead me to volunterily wanted to promote this guest house. So guys, If once you visit Ubud, do stay there in Kudos Guesthouse. Situated in the top of the hill in the middle of rice field make this place is the best accomodation to enjoy the peace ambience and feeling of being Balinese. It's not so far from Ubud Palace and Rio Helmi's photography gallery.


If you are a boss in a company or a leader in an organization, you can create the comforty feeling for your people by saying thanks to appreciate them, saying sorry if you think you put them in unconvenient situation, taking them to a coffee shop once, or gifting them a chocholate or your homemade carrot cake for the one or who you feel supported you in your work. Simple and appliable things with the gig effect; you'll get a loyal and productive employees. Let them know that you are care. Put them in a good feeling.  


These idea is a common dayly little things that effect big things. Tom Peters proposes in his Little Big Things that 'the toughest part of this message is that to do much with the idea, you need an attitude. For me, attitude is, putting others in the way you want others to put you. That's all.

Double Six Beach, 11-11-11